Woody Allen starts shooting his first French language film

Woody Allen began shooting his first French language film in Paris on Monday, as the 86-year-old Oscar winner remains largely ostracised from Hollywood over a longstanding assault allegation by his adopted daughter.

“Wasp 22” is “a black comedy in the spirit of ‘Match Point’”, a statement from Allen said.

The film is his 50th, and features Valerie Lemercier, star of last year’s “Aline”, a homage to Celine Dion.

The film also features French stars Lou de Laage, Melvil Poupaud and Niels Schneider.

Allen has seen Hollywood largely turn its back on him following a renewed accusation by his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow that he sexually assaulted her when she was a girl.

The director has always vehemently denied the accusations and accused his ex-partner Mia Farrow of orchestrating the campaign against him in the 1990s. Two police investigations have found no evidence of an assault.

But Dylan Farrow reignited the debate during the MeToo movement, leading to Allen being dropped from a contract with Amazon.

Even his usually supportive European fans struggled to muster much enthusiasm for his last film “Rifkin’s Festival”, shot in Spain, which saw minimal box office returns.